Berczy Park Rebuild Progresses in the Field and in the Workshop

In what has recently become a monthly series of updates on the rebuilding of Toronto's Berczy Park, new elements in the Downtown park's playful Claude Cormier + Associés design continue to materialize. Since our June update on the project, a number of new features have appeared, including more paving elements, light standards, and the first of 28 sculptures that will grace the park's fountain.

The image above reveals the first elements of the park's central fountain. In addition to the lone cat sculpture (seen right of centre) that will animate the work, the photo also shows the first piece of the circular stone basin surrounding the fountain.

Shipments of other landscaping materials have been steadily arriving on site, notably the red, grey and white granite pavers which will create the park's patterned hard surfaces.

With the supporting concrete pad poured, the first stone pavers have now been installed along the south edge of the park along Front Street. Over the next few weeks, we can expect to see the patterned surface of red, grey and white granite pavers extend towards the park's Wellington Street side.

Paving underway along the south edge of the park, image by Forum contributor skycandy

Keeping in character with the area's historic context, the park's light standards—supplied by Mississauga-based manufacturer HCI Lighting—are of an "acorn" style almost identical to the street lights found on the surrounding blocks of the St. Lawrence area.

Lighting in Berczy Park, image by Forum contributor skycandy

As on-site installation of park elements continues, work on the park's centrepiece is well underway about 1600 kilometres south by southwest of Berczy Park, in the workshop of Alabama-based Robinson Iron. New photos supplied by Robinson Iron and shared with us by Claude Cormier + Associés reveal the ongoing work on the fountain's upper tier.

Berczy Park's fountain, image courtesy of Robinson Iron

Following the "topping off" of the fountain, final finishing work will be done, followed by the application of a finishing coat. After transport to Toronto, the fountain will be installed on its concrete base containing electrical and water lines. The final touch will be the installation of the dog sculptures. Though many of the dogs surround the fountain and sit within its base, nine of them—plus the crowning bone—will be installed on the fountain's tiers, meaning that these components can't be installed until the fountain itself is in place.

Upper tier of Berczy Park's fountain, image courtesy of Robinson Iron

We will keep you updated as this Downtown park continues its transformation. In the meantime, additional information about Berczy Park can be found in our database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or in our associated Forum thread.